Arctic Panzer Wolf | 3 Floyds Brewing Co.

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While the rest in my tasting group disagree with me I have to say that this one was quite disappointing. I have read a couple posts about fresh Citra hops requiring some age to get rid of that mercapto urine aroma. I have no idea if Arctic Panzer uses Citra hops but I got a big hit of urine plus sulfur & vegetative aromas. By vegetative it is not the nice green notes from dry-hopping, it is the undesirable. Body & mouthfeel was nice but the flavor killed it for me.

Evenly hazed honey gold and amber. 1/4th inch head is gone in no time. Dainty soapy swirl and a very thin collar.

Dense hop aromas - pine and grapefruit followed by tangerine, lemon and hints of orange. Cracker malts and a sugar note. Juicy with a touch of booze.

Wow. Clawing, scathing bitterness is unleashed with one sip. Pine and sharp blasts of grapefruit mangle the palate. Finishes harsh with aspirin bitterness and grapefruit pith. Very dry, too. Sugary bread and fledgling cracker are nothing but an ignored speed bump. Malts become bigger over time. This is rough; starts out promising but falls apart entirely.

Hop flavor is trumped by bitterness; a painful, tingling sensation lingers. The only way to describe the feel is "oww." As if the bitterness wasn't enough, carbonation is brutal and searing. Medium body and a bit slick, I think.

What an undeniable let down; I'm so glad I didn't buy a bottle. It wants to be good, but this is just bad. There's no other way to put it.

S: Strong tangerine and pine resin notes with a little orange. Very aromatic. Alcohol is quite prominent. There's a light caramel malt presence with evident oxidation imparting cardboard, as well as a slight vegetal note.

T: Moderate bitterness with a blend of orange, tangerine, and grapefruit. Lighter pine than was in the nose. Malt is faint and there's a subtle vegetal note to this cask which is detracting. Trailing bitterness. Cardboard in the flavor as well. Flavor doesn't match the bitterness here.

There is a certain flavor that Three Floyds beers tend to have which this beer lacks. Served from the bottle, the beer pours a golden orange color. The unique hoppy aroma of 3F was present, though not as much as usual. It is a little hard to believe this is categorized as a double. The initial taste was a creamy bitter hop flavor. The hoppiness was rather one dimensional. I would expect Three Floyds to have a more complex flavor but this one had nothing particularly interesting about it. It seems as though it is designed to "out bitter" other beer in the category but still failed. The aftertaste left a hint of bitter grapefruit, though it was not overwhelming.

Realizing the high standard that Three Floyds has set for itself, it is hard to have a winner every time. This is certainly not up to their standard.

Bottle provided by thomashardy in a recent trade. Thanks again for everything mate.

From a bomber into a snifter.

APPEARANCE: Pours a two finger, medium-thinner looking, off-white head with decent retention. Burnt orange in color, but more tangerine when held to the light. Perfectly clear with lower levels of carbonation evident. Head fades to a decent wisp and ring. A splotchy wisp and ring remain until the end leaving touches of lacing down the sides.

SMELL: Pale malts, apricot and some citrus notes. Grapefruit and some floral hop. Nice, though on the milder side of things.

TASTE: Pale malts up front with some light biscuit notes. Lots of citrus through the middle with some lemon and orange peel, moving into a bitter hop and grapefruit finish. Bitter and floral hop aftertaste is hold and lingering. A little light on the flavor up front and kind of bitter for the sake of being bitter in the finish. Alright.

PALATE: Medium-light body and higher levels of active carbonation. Goes down a bit rough with a slight scratch at the end. Not smooth or creamy enough really. Finish is slightly astringent.. Disappointing. Gets a little better as it sits, but still disappointing compared to others in the style.

OVERALL: Wasn't really thrilled with this one. The flavor was alright, but the light, bubbly body with the overly astringent finish was a definite detractor. Not a bad beer, just nothing worth writing home about. I'd skip this one and choose Dreadnaught any day. Regardless, I'd wanted to try this one for a long time. Thanks again for the opportunity thomashardy.

Having this fresh on draft at the brewpub was a different experience than the first time I had it, at which point I did not like it at all. Either way, it's still a very aggressive IPA despite the not quite 'triple' status of the ABV.

Orange hue with a creamy head and smoothly fluid lacing.

Powerful hoppy aromas of fresh orange zest are featured prominently.

Some nutty, maple and caramel like malts come in to support the heavily bitter orange rind that comes over from the aroma. It's nice at least that there is that linear flavor profile from those hops coming over from the nose.

Boozy heat rises up through the nose, which in addition to the overwhelming bitterness, can become absolutely devastating to the palate after only a few minutes.

Alright, this was one of the few three floyds that I thought were just ok. I like strong IPA's but this did not rise up to other breweries standards, and I was jacked to try the Wolf. Heavy but not tastey hops and a little worse after taste. I will say that this beer was seven weeks old and travel several hundred miles via honda CRV to get to me. So I will try again. Good Day.